May 5, 2025

Two students make adjustments to two yellow panels on the floor of a Hindu temple's gathering space.

University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Today marks one of the best days of the academic year, where Hajim School seniors and master’s students showcase how they have applied their skill and ingenuity in capstone projects. Design Day takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today on the Hajim Quad, where 79 projects by 282 students will be on display.

While some capstone projects are research theses or vehicles to be entered in national competitions like ASME’s e-Human Powered Vehicle Challenge, many of the projects offer an opportunity to engage with the community. That was exemplified by a team of audio and music engineering students whose work to improve the acoustics at a local Hindu temple’s gathering space was chronicled in a new video.

I hope to see you all there! Get a teaser of some of the incredible projects that students worked on this year.

WINNERS OF THE ED AND BARBARA HAJIM ART OF SCIENCE COMPETITION

The student winners of the Ed and Barbara Hajim Art of Science competition hold up large prints of their winning artwork in the Carlson Library.

University of Rochester photo / Megan Petty

Congratulations to the winners of the annual Ed and Barbara Hajim Art of Science Competition! This year’s field featured 65 entries and a record 770 Rochester community members voted for the People’s Choice Award. The top entries were revealed last week during a ceremony at Carlson Library, where they will now be displayed:

Third Place: Biological Koi Pond by biology PhD student Logan Edvalson
Second Place: Hydric Galaxies by an interdisciplinary team of first-year students including Jovanna Hu ’28 (computer science), Isabella Lu ’28 (business), and Shea Ge ’28 (digital media studies).
First Place: Edge of Existence: Schrödinger’s Cat by Abdulwahab Sayes ’26 (mechanical engineering)

Now in its 15^th year, the competition has become a fixture of the community and will continue on in perpetuity thanks to an endowed fund established by Trustee Emeritus Ed Hajim ’58 and his wife Barbara. See the winners and read about their inspiration.

BAJA TEAM COMPETES IN MARANA, ARIZONA

A team of 15 students pose with a muddy baja SAE car on a hot, sunny day in the desert.

The University’s Baja SAE team sent 15 students to Marana, AZ to compete against 68 teams from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It was quite an effort for them to raise the money for travel through various sources including many alumni and friends of the program, as well as a cloud funding campaign that started last year.

This is a brand-new car built from the wheels up over the last 15 weeks. University Facilities and Services has done a great job revitalizing the on-campus track so the students could prepare.

Over four hot and sunny days, the team did very well across the board. They came in 17^th in the design competition, 14^th in acceleration, 20^th in sled pull, and 28^th in the endurance race. Check out the team’s Instagram account for photos from throughout the weekend.

GIDS-AI 2025-2026 SEED FUNDING PROGRAM

Students walk to class outside Wegmans Hall on a sunny day.

The Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (GIDS-AI) is now inviting proposals for 2025-26 seed grants in data science and artificial intelligence. The GIDS-AI seed funding program aims to support collaborative research efforts toward attracting major external funding, with a particular focus on work aligned with at least one of the following research priorities in data science and artificial intelligence:

Foundations of machine learning and AI
Imaging, optics, and computer/human vision
Life sciences and biomedical data science
Health analytics and digital health
Human-data-system interfaces/computational reality (including human-computer interaction, augmented and virtual reality, and robotics)
Computational social science
AI for physical science

The maximum funding amount is $30,000 for one year. PIs must be full-time University of Rochester faculty members and at least one co-PI must be a GIDS-AI affiliated faculty member. Proposals will be accepted until Monday, June 16, 2025, at 11:59 PM. For more information, visit the GIDS-AI research funding website.

GIDS-AI T-SHIRT DESIGN COMPETITION

On Friday, September 19, GIDS-AI will host a 10^th anniversary celebration as part of Meliora Weekend. All Goergen Institute friends, students, and alumni are invited to join; details and registration are forthcoming.

In honor of the anniversary, GIDS-AI is hosting an AI T-shirt design competition for current Rochester students and Goergen Institute alumni. The winner of the competition will receive a $500 prize, and their design will be used for the 10^th anniversary commemorative T-shirts. To enter, submit your design by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, May 16. Only one submission is allowed per entrant. Read through all the instructions and disclaimers before submitting.

FEEDBACKFRUITS CAN HELP FACULTY LEVEL UP THEIR COURSE ENGAGEMENT

A white and green logo that says "Feedback Fruits."

Faculty across campus are using FeedbackFruits to make collaboration and feedback more dynamic. The group formation tool creates student teams based on major, project preference, or other criteria. Group member evaluation supports peer assessment on contributions, and the peer review tool enables rubric-based feedback and annotations. Interactive video, document, and presentation tools help increase engagement both asynchronously and during class. Team-based learning and AI-generated writing feedback offer more ways to support active learning. All tools integrate seamlessly with Blackboard and can be tailored to your course.

The FeedbackFruits team is coming from Amsterdam to lead an in-person info session and interactive workshop from 1:45–3:15 p.m. on Monday, May 19, in Schlegel Hall 401A/B. For more details about the session and to RSVP, go to the University IT website.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON DAY OF GIVING

A blue, white, and yellow graphic with a photo of the Rush Rhees Library and text that says "Thank you" multiple times and "Day of Giving 5/1/25."

Thank you to everyone who thought of us last week and made a gift on the University’s Day of Giving to support our faculty, staff, and students. Last year, we had 168 donors give about $67,000 to the Hajim School on Day of Giving. This year, as of 4 p.m. on Friday, we had 187 donors give over $124,000! We are very grateful for this remarkable, wonderful, and inspiring outpouring of support.

REMEMBERING JOSEPH EBERLY

A black and white graphic with hexagonal shapes in the background, a headshot of Joseph Eberly, and text that says, "Joseph Eberly, Andrew Carnegie Professor of Physics and Optics, 1935-2025."

Sadly, one of our colleagues passed away unexpectedly. Joseph Eberly, the Andrew Carnegie Professor of Physics and a professor of optics died on April 30.

Joe was well-known as a gifted researcher and teacher. He served as president of Optica, the international society for optics and photonics, and in 2021 was selected by the society as an Honorary Member, their most distinguished member category. His teaching excellence was reflected in the Goergen Award for Distinguished Achievement and Artistry in Undergraduate Teaching that he received from the University in 2000.

Tom Brown, director of the Institute of Optics, called Joe “a giant in the optics community” and said “whether it was his seminal books and papers on lasers and quantum optics, his role as the founding editor in chief and architect of Optics Express, his memorable moments as an instructor, or simply the camaraderie that he brought to his scientific and leadership circles, Joe left an indelible mark on all he did.”

University flags on the Eastman Quadrangle will be lowered at a later date that will be communicated through @Rochester. Read about his life and impact on the Optica website.

Take care.

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman